Opinion: Budget a decisive move in the right direction
Budget day is always faced with some trepidation in the Oil & Gas UK offices – but I’m please to say that yesterday felt like a decisive move in the right direction.
Opinion
Cresswell: Methinks the Treasury only half listened
UPDATED 0950 MARCH 15
Exclusive: Osborne – Nowhere is the challenge clearer than Britain’s oil and gas sector
This week I delivered a Budget for the next generation.
Opinion: Time to diversify skills base if North East is to survive worst ravages of future oil slumps
The North East is currently in a very bad way – there’s simply no getting away from the shocking and sudden decline of this most oil-rich of regional economies.
Callum McCaig: Osborne it’s time you repay the industry that paid you
Scotland’s oil and gas industry has generated well over £300billion for Treasury coffers and it employs more than 375,000 people from across the UK. It is an important industry for the north-east of Scotland and the national economy, and one that has benefited UK government expenditure for very many years.
Opinion: When standardisation includes merging back offices
We have all become accustomed to the chants of the industry about how more has to be done to ensure sustainable economics and thus the longevity of the basin. To date much of the call has been on the government or related bodies to reduce taxation and provide support for the sector in this low commodity price and high cost era.
Collaboration: what do we think it means?
Collaboration: what does it mean to you?
Opinion: Unleashing the potential of shale gas
The emergence of unconventional gas over the past few years has transformed the global energy market. Breakthrough technology has enabled key producers, especially in the US to supply the global market with shale gas, reshaping the energy landscape in its wake. Since this revolutionary technology was brought to market, companies have looked to deploy it in many markets as part of a global shift to a low carbon, energy secure future.
Opinion: Why is Saudi Arabia even prepared to discuss supply restraint?
A second meeting has been pencilled in by the kingdom, Russia, Venezuela, Qatar and an unspecified group of oil producers (OPEC and non-OPEC) to talk again about the proposed output freeze, according to Nigerian petroleum minister Emmanuel Kachikwu. But no-one should read this as a sudden outbreak of altruism in Riyadh.
Opinion: Light still shining on solar power despite shrinking FIT in Japan
The Japanese solar market has grown significantly in the past few years as it races to meet the government’s goal of achieving 53 GW of solar PV capacity by 2030.
Opinion: Low oil prices driving the wheels of change for the Gulf’s infrastructure
With oil prices at historic lows, the impact on Gulf economies will be significant. Karim Nassif, Associate Director at Standard & Poor’s, argues that financing will have to adapt to meet the demand for infrastructure – and that renewable energy stands to benefit.
Opinion: Navigating the black expanse of $30 oil
Where do efficiency savings and productivity gains come from when the obvious wastage is eliminated? When the headcount requires no more than a couple hands and a foot? That’s the question facing many of us now as the black expanse of $30 oil spreads out before us.
Deirdre Michie: Tax cuts “urgently needed”
The UKCS is entering a phase of ‘super maturity’.
Tholen: UK oil and gas industry is fighting for its very future
That the UK offshore oil and gas industry is fighting for its future is surely no over-statement.
Les Linklater: Dear Mr Anonymous……
The past month has been an interesting one.
Opinion: We are at a crossroads
We all know the tough times facing the north-east. The continuing slump in the oil price is presenting this area with perhaps its biggest challenge since drilling began 40 years ago. The truth is that we are at a crossroads, and I think it can now go one of two ways.
Opinion: Why OPEC will not call an emergency meeting
None of the 13 members of OPEC want the oil price to continue at its current level for longer than is necessary. For some OPEC members, the situation is becoming critical. Even Saudi Arabia, whose lifting costs are well below the current price, is running a budget deficit and taking action to reduce the rate at which it is using up its foreign currency reserves.
Opinion: The industry’s gender pay gap
The publishing of gender pay gaps by employers has been expected, although the prospect of sector-based league tables has come as more of a surprise. Now the pressure is on businesses to get their act together and meet this challenge head on.
Opinion: Iran. A challenge. And an opportunity.
Since the so-called Implementation Day, the 16th January 2016, Iran has been firmly back on the agenda.
Opinion: E-Storage – The future-proof approach
The global energy agenda is moving quickly, and COP 21 last year was evidence that real progress can be made within the industry, with all countries pledging to pursue measures to keep the earth’s temperature rise below two degrees. Looking forward to the World Energy Congress in October this year, discussions to ensure long term energy equity, sustainability and security for the future will be vital to support the future development and innovation across the globe. In the margins of the Congress, a special session dedicated for the discussion of the future of e-storage is being planned with the attendance of sector leading tech companies.
Opinion: Time to get real on North Sea oil jobs
Sometimes MSPs have to keep asking the same question, and I’ve long since lost count of the number of times I’ve asked how many jobs have been lost In Scotland since the oil jobs crisis began over a year ago.
Opinion: The oil and gas “brain drain”
Yet again, oil and gas job losses are hitting the headlines, with BP being the first major UK player this year to announce thousands of redundancies, hot on the heels of the biggest job losses experienced in the sector for decades throughout 2015.
Melfort Campbell: Scotland’s oil and gas sector must adapt to survive
As Scotland’s oil and gas sector faces the difficult road ahead, a refresh of the Industry Leadership Group (ILG) strategy gives us renewed hope and focus for the future.
Opinion: Why fracking is a double-edged sword
Fracking continues to divide opinion in the UK with recent figures published by the Department of Energy & Climate Change suggesting that, among those people who claim they know a lot about fracking, 53% of them are definite in their opposition to the controversial process, while 33% actively support it.
Opinion: What does the data say?
We know we need to be more clever with our data, especially when you look at the cost of traditional enterprise storage.